[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5489-S5490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE DELAY IN DISASTER ASSISTANCE

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I represent the State of North Dakota. And 
our State has been absolutely devastated. We have people, thousands of 
people, who are still sleeping on cots 54 days after the disaster 
occurred. Fifty-four days after the dikes broke, we still have 
thousands of people on cots, people living in cars, people whose homes 
and businesses have been devastated. And they cannot understand why 
Congress fails to act.
  Mr. President, last night we had a linkup via computer with people 
who are the leaders of the Grand Forks community--the mayors of Grand 
Forks and East Grand Forks, the leaders of the business community, the 
head of the chamber of commerce, leaders of other parts of the Grand 
Forks community, people from the medical school. And their message was 
clear and unencumbered. They have asked Congress to send a clean 
disaster relief bill to the President without unrelated measures, and 
to do it now. That is their request.
  The message was powerful and compelling. People who have had 
everything lost, people who evacuated their homes at 1 o'clock in the 
morning and who have not returned since, a city of 50,000, 95 percent 
of whom were evacuated, with 80 percent of the homes in that community 
devastated. That is the reality that we are living with.
  Mr. President, this chart says it, and says it clearly: Disaster 
Victims Held Hostage, Day 20. This is just since this Congress took the 
Memorial Day break without acting. Twenty days of inaction after a bill 
to provide disaster relief was completely agreed to.
  The disaster provisions were agreed to by Democrats, by Republicans, 
and by the President. It is these unrelated measures that were stuck 
into this disaster relief bill that have hung things up. The people 
that I represent say, ``Take them out. Quit playing politics with the 
lives of people. Quit holding hostage thousands of people to a 
political agenda. Get the disaster relief where it's needed, and get it 
there now.''
  Mr. President, this is a sign that a resident of Grand Forks put out 
on their lawn after Congress decided to take a break without passing 
disaster relief. It says, ``Hey, Congress! Spend your break here!'' And 
here is some of the refuse from the disaster in their front yard. You 
can see the garbage bags piled up as people try to rebuild their lives.
  I have a series of photos here that try to bring this back to what 
this is really about. It is not about how we take the census in the 
year 2000. It is not about some budget dispute. This is about people 
who have been devastated and need help.
  This is a picture from Grand Forks. This is the downtown area that 
not only had a 500-year flood, but had a fire that devastated three 
entire city blocks. Here is some of the refuse that remains from that 
disaster.
  Go to another picture that shows what is happening in terms of Grand 
Forks, ND. Here is a downtown area, one of the buildings that burned up 
in the fire, all the rubble that is there. It is staggering. You go 
through the city of Grand Forks, it looks like a giant junkyard.
  Here is what you see as you go up and down every street in 
residential Grand Forks--every street, because 80 percent of the homes 
were damaged in this town. This is what you see on every boulevard. All 
of the contents of these homes, the washers, the dryers, the carpeting, 
the furniture is not in the home, it is out here on the street because 
it has all been destroyed. And these people are asking for one thing, a 
chance to get their lives back in order.
  They have had the worst winter in our history followed by the most 
powerful winter storm in 50 years that destroyed the electrical grid 
that served 80,000 people. They were without power for nearly 10 days, 
in the midst of 40-degree below weather, and then they get hit by the 
500-year flood, and then by the worst fire in our State's history. Now 
they are hit by a disaster of a Congress that fails to act.
  Never before in the face of a disaster have we diddled for as long as 
we have diddled on this disaster. People are asking for help. And this 
is the condition of their lives.
  This is a picture of the business district. It is not just the homes, 
but it is the businesses that have been destroyed.
  I ask my colleagues, if you were in this circumstance wouldn't you 
expect this body to act, wouldn't you expect a response, wouldn't you 
expect some help?

  This is another picture of what people are going through each and 
every day now in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks--piles of garbage. 
This water is not just rainwater, this is water that is putrid. You fly 
over it, and it stinks because it is filled with every imaginable awful 
thing. And every home and every business is just destroyed. All of the 
things that are in there have to go.
  This is again a picture of what is outside one of the commercial 
buildings, and a tremendous amount of destruction. We are going to take 
years to rebuild. We do not have much time.
  We have a short construction season in our part of the country. By 
October 15 outdoor work will have to be completed. So we do not have 
time for political games to be played here in Washington.
  Let me again repeat the message from the people that I represent. 
``Please, Congress, pass a disaster relief bill without these unrelated 
measures so the aid can start to flow.''
  Some have said, ``Well, nothing is being held up. There's money in 
the pipeline.'' Last night we heard from the people of Grand Forks. And 
what they said was very clear. There is not money in the pipeline. 
There is concrete in the pipeline, because the money is not getting 
through. There is no money for the buyouts and relocation of the homes 
and businesses that have been destroyed. There is no money in that 
pipeline. There is no money in the pipeline to help the ranchers who 
have lost hundreds of thousands of head of livestock. There is no money 
in that pipeline. There is no money in the pipeline for the school 
districts that have taken the kids from the disaster areas. There is no 
money in that pipeline.

[[Page S5490]]

  The Governor of South Dakota, Republican by the way, said: On a 
disaster bill you ought to deal with disasters. He said: For those who 
say nothing is getting hung up, that's just wrong. And not just he said 
it, a Republican Congressmen from Minnesota, Jim Ramstad, said: Those 
who say there's money in the pipeline are being disingenuous at best. 
There is no money for housing. There is no money for buyouts and 
relocations of the homes and businesses that have been destroyed. There 
is no money for sewage systems. There is no money for roads. There is 
no money for a whole series of things that desperately need resources.
  This is the Republican Governor of South Dakota. He said, ``If you've 
got a disaster bill, you ought to deal with a disaster.'' He was 
complaining about the congressional leaders here for sticking 
controversial measures in a disaster relief bill. And he has it exactly 
right. For those who say nothing is being hung up, `` * * * Janklow 
said the delay in the legislation is blocking reconstruction of sewage 
facilities, highways and a State-owned rail line in South Dakota.''
  Mr. President, this is how the flood victims feel.
  This is from the largest newspaper in our State. The headline is very 
clear: ``You are playing with our lives.'' Let me just read what this 
disaster victim said:

       Ranee Steffan has strong words for members of Congress who 
     think flood victims can wait while bickering continues in 
     Washington . . .
       ``You are playing with our lives'' . . . [she was speaking] 
     from the sweltering travel trailer she and her family now 
     call home. ``This isn't some game. . . . [She said] You 
     should come here and walk in my shoes for a day.''
       Homeless for a month, out of work and bounced from one 
     temporary shelter to another, the wife and mother of two is 
     fed up with lawmakers who she believes think[s] Grand Forks 
     residents are ``getting along just fine.''

  They are not getting along just fine. We had one of our colleagues 
say, ``Well, we can send you a bunch of trailers.''
  People in North Dakota do not see trailers as a long-term answer to 
their housing needs. Frankly, trailers in a North Dakota winter are not 
a very acceptable form of housing. We need to rebuild housing, housing 
that can withstand a North Dakota winter. We do not need a bunch of 
trailers sent to our part of the country. That is not the answer to 
what we face.
  We have heard a lot of talk about what is happening and what is not 
happening, what people out there are asking for, what they are not 
asking for. How about hearing from the people out there. How about 
listening to them.
  This is the mayor of Grand Forks in a letter to Senators Lott and 
Daschle, this courageous mayor who has become, I think, an inspiration 
to the country because, in the face of adversity, she has provided 
extraordinary leadership. Let me just make clear she is not a partisan. 
To my knowledge she is not a member of either political party. I have 
no idea what her political identification is. She has always said she 
is an independent, that her husband is a Republican. That is as much as 
anybody knows about her legal affiliation.
  Here is what she says:

       I urge you to strip all of the controversial amendments 
     from the disaster aid bill and send the humanitarian 
     emergency provisions of the bill to the President for his 
     signature.

  That is what she says. She continues:

       We are grateful for the emergency aid provisions included 
     in this bill. These provisions, especially funds for the 
     Community Development Block Grant program, will be essential 
     for Grand Forks to be able to recover and rebuild. North 
     Dakota's short construction season dictates that we must take 
     action quickly to rebuild and relocate homes away from the 
     floodplain.
       But the political fight over provisions unrelated to 
     disaster relief have stalled this bill and delayed the 
     recovery process for Grand Forks and other cities in the Red 
     River Valley. This disaster aid is needed now. We are simply 
     unable to make decisions about how and if we will be able to 
     rebuild our city without knowing the extent of Federal 
     resources available. We need funds now for housing, for buy-
     outs and relocation and homes of businesses, for roads and 
     bridges, for school districts and many more urgent needs. 
     With each passing day thousands of residents of Grand Forks 
     and other communities are unable to get on with their lives 
     and are forced to live in shelters, in government-issued 
     trailers, or with relatives.
       Again, thank you for the emergency provisions included in 
     the disaster aid bill. I urge you to strip the controversial, 
     non-disaster related measures from the disaster bill and send 
     the humanitarian emergency provisions to the President for 
     his signature.

  This was the elected leader of the city of Grand Forks.
  Last night, we heard that identical message from the head of the 
chamber of commerce, from other leaders of the business community, from 
people from all walks of life, a member of the police department, a 
member of the city works department, all of them talking to people 
across the country via satellite as they told their story, what has 
happened in their community, and what they are asking for now.
  It has been 83 days since the President asked for disaster 
legislation. It has been 53 days since the dikes broke. It has now been 
20 days--20 days--since Congress agreed to a disaster package but left 
town without enacting it before the Memorial Day recess.
  Let me just read part of a letter from one of my constituents: ``The 
people here have no homes, no jobs, and no other homes to go to. They 
have no toys, no bikes, no clothes, or anything else for their 
children, and you go home for a break. What are you thinking of?''
  That is a sample of the literally hundreds of letters that we have 
gotten from the disaster area.
  This is a letter from another constituent:

       Perhaps you should visit here and see and feel the pain and 
     devastation. Spend 3 days here, and you will soon understand 
     why people are depressed and the anxiety level is extreme. We 
     are stressed out.
       Also, I am sure that if this disaster had hit your 
     district, you would want to pass the legislation with a sense 
     of urgency. That's all we expect.
       What this means to me and my family: Relief from the flood 
     of the century. It brought flood waters into our community, 
     our house and six rental properties I own and manage. Indeed, 
     the amount of damage I have sustained is mind boggling. I'm 
     on the brink.
       We urge you to pass the disaster relief bill today. Please 
     don't delay another day. We can't wait.

  I have hundreds, if not thousands, of letters like this from people 
out there who are asking their Government to respond. These people are 
proud people. They are independent people. They are hard-working 
people. But they have been hit with a series of disasters unprecedented 
in our State's history.
  The worst winter ever, followed by the most powerful winter storm in 
50 years, followed by a 500-year flood, followed by a fire in the midst 
of flood that destroyed much of the town of Grand Forks, a city of 
50,000 people that had 95 percent of that town evacuated. That has 
never happened in America's history, a town of that size completely 
evacuated. The town right across the river, East Grand Forks, in 
Minnesota, a city of 9,000, was entirely evacuated. We are not going to 
be able to rebuild much of these towns. Many of these homes are just 
absolutely destroyed. Those homes need to be torn down. They represent 
a health hazard. The businesses, too, need to be torn down. We need to 
move back from the river to a more defensible location, but that cannot 
happen until and unless this Congress acts.

  I just conclude by saying when the shoe is on the other foot--and I 
have been in the Senate 10 years--we were ready to help. We never 
delayed anybody's disaster bill ever. I never even thought of adding 
controversial provisions to a disaster bill that someone else needed. I 
just ask our colleagues to give us the same chance and extend the same 
respect to our constituents. They desperately need help and they need 
it now.
  I thank the Chair and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming is recognized.

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